Education is a human right and is central to achieving many other sustainable development outcomes. A quality basic education gives children and youth the knowledge and skills they need to face daily life challenges, and take advantage of economic and lifelong learning opportunities.
Countries today compare themselves on literacy rates as understandable in todays time - as it results to better economic and social capital along with overall development of the country. Education promotes employment, earnings, health, and poverty reduction.
In the present times using the internet and the number of users gives a false vision to many with respect to the literacy rates of population. Here we look at the the top 8 countries as released by "World of Statistics" recently.
1# Canada
With 56% of its estimated population of 39 million having an undergraduate degree, Canada ranks at number 1 on the list. To give an estimate of the country's education spending - 5.3% of GDP on education.
The education system mandates children for enrollment till 16-18 years contributing to adult literacy of nearly 99 %. Most part of the education is funded publicly, divided into primary, secondary and post secondary education.
Four of Canada's universities are constantly ranked in top 100 worldwide namely University of Toronto, University of British Columbia, McGill University and McMaster University. Canada is also a hotspot for international students as it offers favorable conditions and attached work permit for a limited period of time post finishing college.
#2 Russian Federation
Russia is ranked second in the list having an adult short cycle tertiary literacy rate of 25.1% amidst a population of 145 million. Russia has an adult literacy rate of 100% and comprises of compulsory education spanning 11 years. The education is free and guarded by Constitutional right for citizens.
From the onset of Socialist regime in 1917, History has witnessed Russia to excel as a country in space program, medicines, research, cyber world, sports, technology and industrialization till present. The status of a major superpower in the world today is based on thestrong core foundation of education.
Moscow State University and Saint Petersburg State University are the most prominent universities in the world. There are ten highly prestigious federal universities across the country. Russia is also one of the world's fifth-leading destination for international students, hosting roughly 300 thousand students.
#3 Japan
At the third spot we have Japan with an aggregate of 52% adults in 125 million population having attained tertiary education. Women account for more numbers as compared to men in education. Japan spends roughly 3.1% on its education. Elementary and junior schools covering 9 year span is compulsory.
As a result of the strong educational blueprint Japan is the leading nation in world when it comes to science and research (particularly engineering and natural sciences). Japan is also ranked 12th in the list of most innovative countries. Japan also leads the world in robotics production and use. Japan is home to largest and technologically advanced production of motor vehicles, machine tools, steel and nonferrous metals, ships, chemical substances, textiles, and processed foods.
The two top-ranking universities in Japan are the University of Tokyo and Kyoto University.
#4 Luxembourg
The surprise entry into the list at number four is the small country of Luxembourg with 62% of its 6 million people having tertiary education. Luxembourg spends a whopping 8% of its GDP on education. Luxembourg has an interesting education model which is trilingual. Proficiency in Luxembourgish, French and German are required for graduation from secondary school. English is taught in compulsory education.
The University of Luxembourg is the recognized university with the privately aided and setup
Luxembourg School of Business is also prominent.
#5 South Korea
South Korea, officially Republic of Korea has reinstated itself in worldly orders through its perseverance and strong foundation, to emerge from the Korean war in 1950 which saw large shifts in its system of governance and sustenance,
South Korea spends 5.1% of its GDP on education. With a literacy rate of 98%, high school and education in South Korean society is considered pretty high and prestigious even to the extent that the national obsession with education has a term " education fever". This obsession with education has catapulted the resource-poor nation consistently atop the global education rankings. 47.7% population amongst 51 million have tertiary level education.
British education ministers have remodel their own curriculums and exams based on South Korea. Former U.S. President Barack Obama has also praised the country's rigorous school system. The top three universities in South Korea, often referred to as
"SKY", are Seoul National University, Korea University and Yonsei University. 6# Israel
Israel is well known to the world for its emergence as the cyber capital of the world and a leading hub of growing startups. With a war ravaged nation which only came into existence in 1948, Israel has built itself on the solid foundation of existence which showcases in its pursuit of military, technology, research and industries.
Israel has 47% of its 9 million population having a tertiary level education. Israel spends a staggering 15.52% of its GDP on education. The literacy rate stands at 97%. Education is highly valued in the Israeli culture and is considered as the building block of Israel from ancient times. This also bears significance on their approach to education system for their citizens, The State Education Law, passed in 1953, established five types of schools: state secular, state religious, ultra orthodox, communal settlement schools, and Arab schools.
The Technion and the
Hebrew University consistently ranked among world's 100 top universities. Other major universities in the country include the
Weizmann Institute of Science, Tel Aviv University, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Bar-Ilan University, the University of Haifa and the Open University of Israel.
#7 United States
Considered to be the epitome of capitalism, and spearheading technology and researched based industries practically covering every segment of the market, United States of America comes in at number 7. The United States spends 3.5% of its GDP on education. In a population 335 million nearly 37.9% people have attained tertiary level education. The basic literacy rate is at 99%.
High profile game changing companies like Facebook, Amazon, Microsoft, Apple to name a few are part of the American ecosystem. Accounting for 4% of world's population, America possesses 30% of world's income. America is also a world leader in science and technology.
The United States has abundance of both private and public colleges and Universities. The major bulk of the world's top public and private universities, as per the lists by various ranking organizations, are in the United States. The education ecosystem also comprises of local community colleges. The U.S. spends more on education per student than any nation in the world.
MIT and Harvard Business Schools are famous worldwide.
#8 United Kingdom
The United Kingdom has always had history of colonization and were the first people to apply education and knowledge in the able governance and Industrialization in the past. Old traditional places of education still remain and attract brightest of minds from all over the world.
52% of United Kingdom's population amongst 68 million have tertiary level education. United Kingdom spends a top notch 13% of its GDP on education.
The United Kingdom trails only the United States in terms of representation on lists of top 100 universities. United Kingdom is home to some of the world's most prestigious universities -
University of Oxford, University of Cambridge, London School of Business to name a few.
And that was the article readers. Do let me know if the article was helpful. Thank you.
Peace !
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